Rubber boot



Sept. 24, 1929. w 1,729,236

RUBBER BOOT Filed Sept. 4, 1928 Patented Sept. 24, 1929 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE FREDERICK WRAY, OF AKRON, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO THE B. F. GOODRICI-I COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK RUBBER BOOT Application filed September 4, 1928.

This invention relates to rubber boots.

Heretofore the chief strength-giving elements of rubber boots commonly have consisted of rubberized woven fabric, initially providing strength in all directions in the boot, although such fabric is comparatively difficult to work into shape upon the last and it has been necessary to incorporate numerous reinforcing layers of woven fabric in the ankle portion of the boot to strengthen against flexing such as otherwise would cause a sawing action of the crossed woven threads upon each other and consequent quick deterioration from abrasion of the threads and cracking of the ankle portion of the boot, which in fact often occurs even when numerous reinforcing woven-fabric layers are employed, since the wall-thickness incident to their employment causes a great strain to be placed upon some of them in flexure of the wall.

My chief objects are to avoid quick deterioration or cracking of the boot, to provide lightness and to provide comfort in the boot and to provide economy of material and facility of procedure in the manufac ture thereof.

I attain these objects by departing from the idea of strengthening the boot against flexure, especially in the ankle portion, and providing instead a structure adapted to flex freely and to be subjected to numerous flexures without deterioration.

To this end 1 preferably employ rubberized weftless or substantially weftless (weakwefted) cord or thread fabric witn the strength-giving cords or threads disposed vertically as the chief strength-giving element in the leg and ankle portions of the boot, as I find that such fabric, especially in conjunction with the usual thin and flexible lining fabric of the boot, gives sufficient strength in a circumferential direction and very great strength as well as flexibility in a vertical direction, in which direction it is subjected to the greatest strains. The absence of weft threads in the fabric not only avoids the destructive sawing action of one thread upon another but also renders it highly subject to stretching and condensing Serial No. 303,834.

cross-wise of the threads and so in the manu facture of the boot permits the fabric readily to be shaped to the contour of the leg and ankle portions of the last and folded into place onto the sole face of the last and compacted against the insole with avoidance of wrinkling or buckling, and apparently with quite adequate anchorage notwithstanding the non-woven and consequently noncriinped character of the cords. Also the deformability of the weftless fabric permits it to be shaped to the last without unevenness of stress in the cords and, as each of the cords is substantially insulated from the others by intervening rubber and is without crimp such as that incident to weaving, great flexibility is provided in conjunction with great strength.

Of the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation, with parts broken away, of a boot embodying and made in accordance with my invention in its preferred form.

Fig. 2 is a section on line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

The weftless cord fabric is shown at 10, associated with the usual thin and flexible lining fabric 11, which is desirable although not essential as a circumferential reinforce- Inent. I

The cords preferably are continuous from the top of the leg to the adjacent sole portion of the boot, where their lower end portions 12 are turned under between the insole 13 and the outsole 14, and, at the front of the leg, from the top thereof to a position in the instep region, beyond the much-flexing ankle region, of the boot, the cords in the preferred embodiment here shown terminating at 15. The front, comparatively non-flexing part of the foot portion of the boot is preferably formed of woven fabric for comparative stiffness and strength in all directions.

Reinforcing pieces of fabric such as the two pieces 16, 17 at the rear and the single piece 18 at the front of the ankle portion of the boot may be employed, constituting much less of such reinforcement than heretofore commonly has beien employed, but I preferably avoid any such number of reinforcing layers as would so thicken the wall as to brace it strongly against flexure.

The advantages of my invention are adequately set out in the above statement of objects.

Modification is possible without departure from the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A rubber boot having as its chief longitudinal reinforcement throughout the ankle portion thereof a layer of rubberized, substantially weftless cord fabric, the strength.- giving cords thereof being disposed approximately lengthwise of the boot.

2. A rubber boot comprising a reinforcement of substantially weft-less cord fabric of which the strength-giving cords extend from the leg portion through the ankle portion and then transversely into the solestruoture of the boot.

3. A rubber boot lined with circumferentially-reinforcing fabric and having as its chief longitudinal reinforcement throughout the ankle portion thereof a layer of rubberized, substantially weftless cord fabric, the strength-giving cords thereof being disposed approximately lengthwise of the boot.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 30th day of August, 1928.

FREDERICK WBAY. 

